Simon Kerry – Nottingham

April 2017

School bus driver had ‘particular attraction to teenage girls in uniform’

A school bus driver must never resume the job after a court heard of his attraction to teenage girls in uniform.

The restriction was imposed on Simon Kerry, 49, who was found to have used his wife’s computer to download child sexual abuse images

A six-month prison term, suspended for two years, was imposed on Kerry. He must also attend 25 sessions with probation officers to curb the problem.

Judge Rosalind Coe QC said he had downloaded videos and still pictures but had not passed them on.

Sitting at Nottingham Crown Court, she said he had “an attraction to children, particularly to young teenage girls in uniform”.

He had never been in trouble before and the judge added: “You lost your job, your reputation and your family have been adversely affected. They are all suffering from your activity.”

She imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order on Kerry. He pleaded guilty three counts of downloading images of children at his home in Andover Road, Bestwood Estate, last year.

Gareth Gimson, prosecuting, said Kerry was at work when police visited the house. His wife alerted him and Kerry returned home.

Police asked about indecent images and he said “that he had looked at some and they had been deleted”.

Mr Gimson told the judge: “He didn’t equate them with pornography.”

Kerry said his interest was largely with girls aged between 11 and 14 in uniform.

“At this time, he was a bus driver and not just any bus driver – but a school bus driver dealing with teenage girls in uniform going to school,” said Mr Gimson. He emphasised that there was no suggestion that Kerry had committed any “contact offence”.

He asked for the harm prevention order, saying it was “proportionate” in the case.